Jointed doll



NOV. 25, 1952 zbe 2,618,896

JOINTED DOLL Filed Aug. 9, 1949 INVENTOR SamzzeZfi'e/joy AITOIRNEY'Patented Nov. 25, 1952 ED 5 E S, E N1 F 2,618,896

JOINTED DOLL Samuel Herzog, Rye, N. Y.

Application Augustfi, 1949, swarm). 109,345:-

4* Claims:

This invention relates to dolls andli'ke jointed" toysand'to a joint.for articulating the. limbs thereof with respect to segments thereof;and t0 the torso to which the limbs are attached;

My invention concerns itself withtoy figures" such as. dolls or likesimulation of living bodies whichinvolve a torso portion and'limbjs:which maybe set in variouspositions withregard to each other and thetorso.

My invention has as its objective the provision" of a toy figure andmannikin having a torso provided with limb. sockets and in which limbsare, independently attachable to the torso, in.

which eachof'the limbs may be independently articulated and assembled,and afiixed to the torso by jointed construction which makes assembly ofthe parts economical and'adjustment tosecure the desired position of thelimbs may be accomplished with facility:

More specifically, my invention'resides'in pro vidinga toy figure inwhich limb sockets'are provided for independent attachment of" thelimbs, wherein each limb has 'terminalordi'stal segments andintermediate segmentscoupled by a. joint which permitsarticulationof-the seg ments in respect of each other, the" segmentsbeing jointed and held in frictional engagement for articulation fromasingle anchor member or-pul1 pin, whereby the same expedient-whichholds the segments of the limb in adjustment frictionally may beemployedfor assembly of the limb to thetorso of the toy', whereby aneconomical'assembly is provided for manufacture, repair, adjustment orreplacement;

My invention still more particularly is. concerned with the provision ofa figure whereby articulation of the limbs with regard'toth'e torso orthe limb segments with regardtoeach other may be produced, to provide afigure or mannikin which, when costumed, has a naturalness of'appearance in various adjusted positions and in which articulation iseffected by a joint which is Of'lOW cost construction.

Toattain these objects'and such further objects as may appearherein, orbe hereinafter pointed out, I'make reference to the accompanyingdrawingforming a part hereof, in which- Figurev 1 is a planview of a dollillustrating my invention, with-portions thereof sectioned to disclosedetails;

Figurerzis. asection, taken on the line 2 -2 of Figure 1;

Figure.3jis a. sectiontaken on theline. 3-3,

of-Figure 1;

Figure 4 is afragmentary section taken on'the' line fi -4 of "Figure 1;

2v Figure dis a fragmentary perspective view-of the arm joint 'orielbow'socket;

Figure 6 is a. fragmentary perspective View of the leg joint or kneesocket.

Summarizing my invention, it is intended by" metoprovide' a toy, doll ormannikin in which" a torso portion has assembled to it limbs which maybearticulated with regard to the torso and" in which an economicalassembly is provided'by a joint construction of the segments of thelimbs; permitting an independent assembly of the limbs before assemblywith the torso for independence of attachment Jand'adjustment of thearticulated joints of the limbs so that the tension or force inga torsoll, provided with a head socket l2" and shoulder sockets l3whichare'partly spher ical in contour. Hip, sockets l l'include a partlyspherical seat J5, a' transverse clearance portion 5;. flattened bearingportions ll' and I8, anda stop apron 19:- A passage 20*is provided forthe neck socketlZ; passages 2! are provided for theshoulder sockets l3;passages Hare-provided for the hip sockets I 5, leading to a'commoncavity 23 which may be made accessible by the back cover plate 24 sothat the torso l I is madefroma two part construction comprisingtherear-cover plate 24-and' the front bodyportion 25.

The limbs in'the form of arms -26-"-comprise an' upper segment 2! and alower segment 28; Forconvenience the upper segment will be-referred toas an'intermediate segment. The legs '29 likewise are madewith anintermediate'segment 30 and a distal segment 3i. ment 21 has anaxiallongitudinally extended passage 32,-running from a generally ballshapeclcoupling element 33 to'the-spheroidal socket coupling'element 34; Anangular offset segmented disposes theball portion Bfrfrom the arm andisprovided witha transverse passagedfii The-in termediate segment 21is'provided' with a' counter pull pin" 31 which is driven in aposition-transversely of the-ball element common to the pas sages 32 and36.

The passage 32 extends to thesocket-portion" The armintermediate seg 34in which there may be seated the distal segment 28, having a ball shapedcoupling 38, merging into the body portion thereof and connected by aneck portion 39 which is constricted to provide clearance inarticulation of a magnitude of about 60. A supplemental clearance slot34a, is formed in the intermediate segment. A transverse slot 38a isformed in the ball coupling element. A counter pull pin 39a is afiixedsubstantially diametrically of the ball coupling 38 to lie axiallycoincident with the passage 32 of the intermediate arm segment 21.

The arm 26 may be assembled preliminarily and independently by a link 40having an eye at opposite ends thereof, one of which loosely engages thecounter pull pin 39a, the other loop anchoring the elastic cord 4| inthe form of a continuous closed band or ring whose upper end is providedwith the link 42 formed with opposed loops, eyes or hooks, one of whichengages the counter pull pin 3?. The counter pull pin 31 is providedwith a shoulder link 43 whose opposed loops, eyes or hooks looselyengage the pin 3'! and breast elastic cord 15 in band form. The elasticcord 44 joins the limbs across the chest to each other through thecavity 23. The links it and 43 each may be formed of malleable wire forready adjustment in making the connecting loops.

The limbs 29 have the intermediate segment 30 thereof formed with a ballcoupling 55, having flattened faces 46 and ll for engagement with theflattened faces ll and It, respectively, of the socket [5. A constrictedneck portion at on the segment 35 between the ball coupling 35 and thebody of the segment 38, as well as a tolerance in size of the flattenedportions 48 and 47 with respect to the walls I? and I8 permitsarticulation of the intermediate segment 36 for a wide anglesubstantially to position the limb segment 33 at right angles to thetorso forwardly, with a limited degree of movement sidewise.

A longitudinal passage d8 extends through the ball coupling 55 to theknee socket 59 which is formed of generally parti-spheroidal contour.Clearance cutouts and 52 are provided at the rear and inner side of thesegment 30 adjacent the socket 58. The distal segment 3| is formed witha ball coupling 53 complementary to the socket 59 and is provided with aslot 5@ to outline the spaced sections 55 supporting the counter pullpin 55 which is positioned substantially diametrically of the ball 53.In coupled position the counter pull pin 55 is aligned with the passage49.

The ball coupling element 53 merges into the body of the segment 3! by aconstricted neck 5'! which allows for a large angle articulation inexcess of almost 60 and an articulation of almost 90 in the direction ofthe clearance sections 5! and 52.

With the assembly thus provided, a link 58 has its opposed loopsengaging loosely the counter pull pin 56 and the elastic cord 59 whichis extended through the passage 59 to engage the link 66 mounted uponthe counter pull pin 6! transversely of the ball coupling element 45. Across slot 62 provides clearance for the link 63, the opposed loops ofwhich are mounted respectively on the counter pull pin BI and theelastic cord 64. The elastic cord 64 is joined to the head 65 throughthe link 66 engaging a pin 61 in the neck of the head, to hold the ballshaped coupling thereof seated on the socket l2 previously described. I7

It will be observed that each of the limbs has a terminal or distalsegment and an intermediate segment coupled by a joint which may bearticulated independently, and that the intermediate segment has a balland socket coupling in which the ball element of the intermediatesegment has a counter pull pin serving as the anchoring means for atension member or elastic cord running through the passage thereof tothe distal or terminal segment. The employment of the counter pull pinas a common connecting means for the tension cord 4| and 59 for thelimbs to the distal or terminal portions 28 and M, respectively,permitting of independent tensioning of the ball and socket coupling ofeach of these members for frictional articulation of the terminal ordistal segment of the limb independently of the frictional contactsupplied in holding the limb in the respective sockets l3 and I5 forconnection of the limbs to the torso by the elastic cords or tensioningmembers 44 and 64, respectively.

It will be observed that by my construction employing the flattenedrelationship of the ball 45 in the socket l5 to limit the movement ofthe legs by contact with the flattened surfaces I7 and I8, a life-like,normally seated position of the limbs to the torso may be secured,exposing the rump portion 68 to balance the doll in a seated position.

By my construction, articulation of high magnitude may be secured with asimple number of parts. A realistic adjustment of the limb and limbparts may be secured, permitting dolls, toys or mannikins to be costumedand displayed in a life-like pose. A low cost and highly articulablefixture is provided in which the joint segments may be provided with therequisite friction for adjustment to assume a desired pose withoutdisturbing the condition of other jointed couplings.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claimas new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a toy figure having a torso provided with limb sockets, thecombination having independently attachable limbs, each limb havingterminal and intermediate segments coupled by a joint in articulatedrelationship, th intermediate segments each having an axially directedpassage throughout its length which merges into socket and ball couplingelements at opposite ends thereof, counter pull pins affixeddiametrically transversely of the ball element of said intermediatesegment and joint and intersecting the said passage, and an elastictensioning cord member extended in said passage of said intermediatesegment coupled at its opposite ends to said pins by a link looped overthe pins for articulation of the distal segments relatively to theintermediate segments in a universal direction about said pin portion.

2. In a toy figure having a torso provided with limb sockets, thecombination having independently attachable limbs, each limb havingterminal and intermediate segments coupled by a joint in articulatedrelationship, the intermediate segments each having an axially directedpassage throughout its length which merges into socket and ball couplingelements at opposite ends thereof, counter pull pins affixeddiametrically transversely of the ball element of said intermediatesegment and joint and intersecting the said passage, and an elastictensioning cord member extended in said passage of said intermediatesegment coupled at its opposite ends to said pins, said coupling beingeffected by freely slidable links and the socket portion havingclearance cutouts for receiving th shank of the links providingindependent, wide range articulation of the coupling.

3. In a toy figure having a torso provided with limb sockets, thecombination having independently attachable limbs, each limb havingterminal and intermediate segments coupled by a joint in articulatedrelationship, the intermediate segments each having an axially directedpassage throughout its length which merges into socket and ball couplingelements at opposite ends thereof, counter pull pins affixeddiametrically transversely of the ball element of said intermediatesegment and joint and intersecting the said passage, and an elastictensioning cord member extended in said passage of said intermediatesegment coupled at its opposite ends to said pins and passing throughpassages in the ball element leading to the pin, said terminal segmentseach having a ball element being integrally formed on the terminalsegments connected to the segments by restricted neck portions,providing wide angle articulation of the socket and ball couplingelements to each other.

4. In a toy figure having a torso with limb sockets, the combinationhaving independently attachable distal and intermediate segments coupledby a joint in articulated relationship, the intermediate segment havingan axially directed passage throughout its length which merges intosocket and ball coupling elements at opposite ends thereof, said socketand ball coupling elements of the torso and limb having relativelyfiattened portions to limit the transverse movement to narrow angles,counter pull pins affixed diametrically transversely of the ball elementof said intermediate segment and joint and intersecting the saidpassage, and an elastic tensioning member extended in said passage ofsaid intermediate segment coupled at its opposite ends to said pins, thejoint coupling the intermediate segments and distal segments havingclearance cutouts at the inner side allowing for articulation of almostwhere, by articulation of the distal segment to this limit, the torsomay be erectly balanced in the seated position thereof.

SAM. HERZOG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 130,068 Parent July 30, 1872681,974 Purvis Sept. 3, 1901 982,090 Schoenhut Jan. 17, 1911 1,091,944Meier Mar. 31, 1914 1,456,422 Cabana 1 May 22, 1923 1,554,535 StroupSept. 22, 1925 2,137,575 Lincoln Nov. 22, 1938

